A significant milestone in the future of fracking in the United States is fast approaching, as the public comment period closes next week for industry-approved plans to open 600 million acres of public lands to the controversial drilling practice… —Brad Johnson, ThinkProgress.org, 8/16/2013

Right now the Bureau of Land Management —the agency responsible for managing publicly-owned federal lands —is making up rules that could allow fracking to start on public land across the United States. That means more toxic chemicals, millions of gallons of wastewater and digging out more climate-cooking fossil fuels —all on land that we, the people, own.

America’s public lands are vast, and much of them untouched —which is why big oil and gas will push hard to drill. To push back, we’re joining a movement-wide effort to flood the BLM with comments demanding they stop fracking on public lands. Hundreds of thousands have already been submitted, and we only have a few more days before the COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES ON AUGUST 23RD.

350.org reports the millionth public comment was submitted to the State Department opposing the Keystone XL pipeline mid-morning, April 22nd —Earth Day! Soon after, the EPA put out a statement that called the State Department’s first analysis of the pipeline ‘insufficient,’ pointing out that they got the numbers wrong on the risk of oil spills and the climate impact of the pipeline. That’s a sure sign the relentless pressure is having an impact, and that’s THE POWER OF YOU!

Change comes from within —we find a better way as we learn to live wisely.

Keystone XL is a climate disaster, and an economic loser. If built, it would carry 800,000 barrels a day of tar sands to export for the next 50 years, leaving a toxic legacy for communities along the route, and a massive carbon footprint on the atmosphere. —Duncan Meisel, 350.org

Today begins the State Department’s 10-day comment period for the XL Keystone Pipeline. The goal is 1 million comments by the end of the comment period and you may comment more than once.

Because the State Department’s review of the project has been far more political than scientific, the facts are being underscored through the comment process to make a clear case to the President, whose job is to decide whether the pipeline is in the US national interest. The Calgary, Alberta based TransCanada Corporation behind the development of the pipeline, has shown that it is not. In filings to the State Department and contracts with refiners, they’ve spelled out their plans to enhance their profits by exporting it to the international market where it will fetch a higher price —profiting big oil and accelerating tar sands development in Canada.

It’s easy and it’s important your opinion be included, so if you are interested in submitting a comment, you may do so through this link at 350.org (where you can also check progress):